These lilies aren’t the first to bloom, but they are worth waiting for. Oriental lilies bloom the latest in the season, but their intense fragrance (one blossom is fine for a big room or more, in my opinion) is so much more thrilling than the no-fragrance Asiatic types. Be careful about brushing close to them, as their pollen can stain clothing.

Pink Oriental lilies bloom in a Seattle garden

Please visit Ruby Tuesday 2, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Macro Monday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Pink Saturday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Garden Tuesday, My Romantic Home, and Fishtail Cottage Thursday. Let’s try a new meme, Thursday Floral Love. Thanks for visiting and please come back soon!

Our friends with the gorgeous deck (see post just below) got married on Sunday, and I got to make some bouquets for their backyard ceremony. They have lovely flowers there but it would have been a shame to pick them, and I have so many. Our friends are also neighbors so they strolled over and chose what they wanted, brought the “vases,” and I had fun creating six matching bouquets in a rainbow of bright colors.

Garden flowers getting ready for wedding centerpieces using blue mason jars

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These darling sweetpeas are on my patio table. Take a nice, deep breath, now!

Sweetpea bouquet graces an outdoor table

This week I’m linking into Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Outdoor Wednesday, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday, Hope in Every Season Wednesday (homemaking) and Garden Tuesday. Thanks for your visit here, and come back soon.

Just went out to the garden and saw that the hydrangeas are beginning to show color. Such flower excitement! This one was a gift from friends who needed the space for something else. This year it has recovered from the move and is blooming beautifully for us in a shady spot.

Glowing Embers hydrangea begins to show color in late afternoon light

You might visit Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday, Garden Tuesday and Creative Weekends Friday at the Pink Home. And for some easy tips on how to take better flower photos without any fancy equipment, see my free “7 Secrets” download at the right. Thanks!

Flowers that return each year, or politely reseed or spread, are big faves of mine. Old fashioned sweet williams have the added bonus of brilliant colors and longish stems so they can go in bouquets. These are on my patio right now. The peach flowers behind them are nasturtiums with variegated leaves, a new plant for me.

Magenta and white sweet williams in front of peach nasturtiums on my patio

Participating in Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday, Thursday Challenge (Flowers), Garden Tuesday and Creative Weekends Friday at the Pink Home. Let’s try Orange You Glad It’s Friday, too. If there’s only this one photo here, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos on top to see the rest of ’em.

This is one of those things that you just don’t know until you grow something. When you have a grapevine, in the late spring it gets these cute little sprigs with tiny balls on them that you figure are tiny grapes. But no! They are grape flower buds, which open to nondescript, fluffy blossoms, and then soon are the real grapes, round as you’d expect. Cool, huh?

A grapevine blossoms, with red campion in the background

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It’s raining hard right now (the garden is grateful) but this afternoon before it began I got some photos of the flowers on my patio. I have never had such a display. Finally, luck, a little experience, and decent weather have come together in a symphony of color. Wish you could come over and enjoy this with me.

Colorful flowers bloom in pots and around a Seattle patio in late June

Linking up at Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Garden Tuesday, Creative Weekends Friday at the Pink Home and Today’s Flowers. Have a great day and come back soon, hear?

This year the roses in front of my house are doing very well indeed. I fertilized them at the right time and it made all the difference. The sweet alyssum border reseeded itself very vigorously and just adds to the general fragrance. Wish you could come to my house and I’d pick some for you.

Roses blooming in a Seattle front yard garden

Please visit Scenic Weekends, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, and Garden Tuesday. Thank you for your visit here and please come again soon.

A young friend is graduating high school and I am so happy with how my roses are coming along that I went and cut these for her as a gift. There are lots and lots more out there for more bouquets very soon. Cut your roses and enjoy them!

Many colors in a rose bouquet, with a Double Delight in the middle; yellow with magenta edges

Linking to Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday and Garden Tuesday. It’s great you stopped by here and I hope you enjoyed your visit.

My roses look like they are going to be really good this year. A combination of alfalfa meal (slow acting) and shameful systemic rose food has finally come together for a sturdy, healthy and abundant bunch of buds.

One rosebud gets ready to bloom

Visit Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday and Garden Tuesday. Thank you for visiting and please click on a new tag (perhaps “rose”?) at the lower right, now that you are here.